Chapter 164 A Note on Zhou Zhewen, a Famous Seal Carver in Bamin

My friend Zhao Puchu once jokingly referred to my youngest daughter Wu Qing as "Xie Gong's least sympathetic daughter", and I suddenly felt that this poem could be engraved into a stamp and given to my daughter.It happened that my friend Zhuoru was going back to his hometown Fuzhou, so I asked her to ask someone to carve this seal for me with the Shoushan stone from my hometown.When she came back, she brought me the creation of Zhou Zhewen, a famous Fuzhou seal sealer.Zhuo Ru also introduced: Zhou Zhewen is a painter of Fuzhou Academy of Painting, a member of Fujian Branch of China Artists Association, vice president of Fuzhou Calligraphy and Seal Carving Research Association, director of Hangzhou Xiling Yinshe, and a member of Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.Later I read many articles about him, all of which mentioned that he came from a poor family, worked hard since he was a child, and loved seal carving since he was a child. He has engraved tens of thousands of seals with Shoushan stone from his hometown in the past 40 years.He did not learn from a teacher, but he learned from various schools of thought and found his own way, which earned him a high reputation in the art circle.I don't know seal cutting, but I can see the profundity of the knife technique, and my little daughter and I were pleasantly surprised.

Later, from his letters, I learned that he was still a disciple of my second uncle Xie Baoyu (Mu Ru), and my cousin Xie Weishu had also taught him English.He is very familiar with my former residence in Fuzhou, all the households, and this has brought back many memories for me. What I want to mention here is that I think he is not only an outstanding artist, but also a passionate patriot.At the age of sixty-five, he has also been to Japan and the United States, where he participated in a delegation of folk artists and performed seal cutting. Through his profound art, he made many foreign friends and carved seals for many famous scholars.Wherever he goes, he never forgets that he is a Chinese artist. He wants foreigners to understand and appreciate Chinese seal cutting art, and builds a bridge of friendship between the two countries through this art.When he performed in the United States in 1980, he saw in the "Chinese Daily" that a politician was running for president, and he called for the establishment of official relations with Taiwan.He was very indignant, and on the performance stage of the China Pavilion, under the eyes of all eyes, he carved a seal of "Loyalty and Prosperity", and engraved on the side "Friendship between Chinese and American people from generation to generation".When the reporters in New York asked him why he engraved this seal, he stood up resolutely and said: "There is an old saying in China that 'keep faith and never change forever'. In 1972, China and the United States established diplomatic relations and published the 'Shanghai Communiqué'. Since then, the friendship between the peoples of the two countries has been restored and developed. Now that some people are running for president, they have made statements about reestablishing official relations with Taiwan. Abide by the spirit of the 'Shanghai Communique' and be faithful in politics!" These words won warm applause from the audience.The full text was published in New York newspapers the next day, attracting the attention of people in the US government and opposition.After the delegation returned to China, Vice Premier Gu Mu heard the report and happily shook his hand and said, "You, a folk artist, dare to criticize the leaders of the United States. You are very courageous and patriotic!"

When Zhou Zhewen was abroad, he always cared about the overseas Chinese living abroad and urged them to return to China.When he was in the United States, a person from Taiwan asked him to engrave two seals of "Zhang Yuan Zhiyin" and "Daqian Layman", and he wanted to bring them back to Taiwan to give to Daqian.He pondered for a while, and engraved Li Bai's "Hearing the Flute in Luocheng on a Spring Night" on the edge of the two seals: "The sound of someone's jade flute flying in the dark, scattered into the spring breeze and filled Luocheng. In this nocturne, when you hear "Folding Willows", Who can't afford the love of their hometown?" and Li Shangyin's "Night Rain Sending North": "Your question is that there is no time to return, and the night rain in Bashan fills the autumn pond. Why should we cut the candles in the west window together, but talk about the night rain in Bashan." The Taiwanese The guest was very moved after seeing it. He said that Mr. Daqian was from Sichuan. He lived abroad half his life and now lives in Taipei. However, he has never forgotten his hometown for a day. Now that he has these two stamps on his desk, how can he not arouse his nostalgia for his hometown? ?And Zhou Zhewen wanted to use these two seals to make old man Daqian return to the mainland to see the mountains and rivers he had been away for many years. It is a pity that Mr. Daqian was seriously ill when the seals arrived!

When Zhou Zhewen was in Japan and the United States, he also carved hundreds of seals for Chinese overseas Chinese. He always liked to engrave Meng Jiao's "Wandering Zi Yin" on the edge of the seals: "The thread in the hands of a loving mother, and the clothes of a wandering son. Before leaving, it is tightly sewn." , I am afraid that I will return later. Whoever says that the heart of the grass will be rewarded with three springs." Zhou Zhewen loves the people's good prime minister. He used an iron pen to engrave many poems that the people remember and praise the prime minister on the ice-hard and jade-clean Shoushan Stone. He will never forget it. This printed book will be published by Fujian People's Publishing House.Recently, I also got a picture album "Fujian Calligraphers and Painters", which contains more than ten seal carvings by him in memory of Taiwan compatriots and the old days of the art circle. The kindness and affection are beyond words.All this makes me feel extremely happy and proud that my hometown has produced an outstanding and patriotic gold and stone seal carving artist!First edition on November 3, 1983. )